Rhode Island Articles

I couldn’t resist answering this Rhode Island question on Quora. I tried to resist, but failed…Stewie made me do it. Being a foreigner from Connecticut, a state I can no longer afford, I feel dual allegiance. I was born and bred in Bridgeport, also known as “Chapter 11 City.” That means it went bankrupt. Not that Rhode…

I was teaching a unit that was boring. But it’s in the curriculum so I had no choice. I tried to chug it down and get on to something better. I gave the test. They bombed. I don’t even like tests–In a few years, I bet we won’t even need tests–they’ll wear a Yankee Hat that will…

Everywhere I go, there’s a top ten list. “Top 10 Ways to Make Your Sneakers Smell Fresh,” “Top 10 Ways to Declutter.” As an stodgy history writer, I decried the top ten list for the longest time. Now I write them. “What? People have such short attention spans they can’t even read a paragraph?” I’d say in…

God Bless America on Tax Day Happy Tax Day! Because it follows my birthday by five days and I always get money back, I feel like the government’s sending me a gift. “Casey, you’re a great citizen. Happy birthday! Don’t spend it all in one place.” This year, I had plans. My new house has a 1930’s…

In the blink of an eye, comes a new day. It seems I have just put my head down upon the pillow, swirled some dreams around for a moment, and it’s time to start again. Each day starts like this. Each day ends in the same way…so very quickly. Each holding its own promise, like a little…

I lived in upstate New York through the ice storm of 1993. It reminded me of Narnia–probably, to this day, the most striking thing I have ever seen. It was stunning. Crystal ice encasing trees, bowing their branches in genuflection toward nature, refracting a million tiny rainbows as the sun hit–gems and diamonds of ice…sparkling whiteness shining…

Happy Hangover Monday, America! It’s the day when I walk around at work smiling and you all want to punch me in the face. It’s awesome. I’m not sure if it’ll be quite so bad this year, because none of my coworkers had anyone to root for–the Patriots weren’t in the Super Bowl, the Bills and Jets…

I am a terrible athlete. I studied martial arts for years–I worked and worked to memorize kata and I did a stint in tournaments. I was bored. You can only break stuff and do choreographed routines for so long. I was bored in martial arts, but also bored in life. Sometimes, at just the right time, just…

I’m drinking coffee and reviewing social media. I love when there’s an honest to goodness conversation unfolding on Facebook or Twitter. I don’t get those deep conversations in person as much anymore–the “college type” where we sat all night putting off papers some grad assistant from another country would be forced to read while we discussed the…

I love the farmer’s market. I feel comfortable. There are people like me at farmer’s markets. There are people with canvas bags, no doubt tons of vegetarians, and older parents. That makes me smile because though I feel young at heart, and I hate it when I’m the only parent around that remembers the Reagan administration. I…